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KS3 Reports

How to read your Child's School Report

Top Section of Report

  • Attendance:  - Your child’s attendance so far this year - the target should be between 98% and 100%
  • Reading Age of Student: this age is based on the last time we tested.  Ideally, this is above or the same as their actual age.
  • Prior Attainment: is based on KS2 SATs score from primary school.  This should be their minimum target banding in every subject
  • Number of Positive Points Achieved:  shows their accumalive achievement points and the average points for the year group - ideally this will be above the average.
  • Number of Behaviour Points: shows their accumalive behaviour points and the average points for the year group - ideally this will be below the average.

Learner Engagement (LE) Guide

Excellent  - The student displays a thirst and a love for learning and contributes very strongly to the progress they are making. They never disrupts lessons and take pride in their work; manners are impeccable and they are always punctual to the lesson. Their behaviour and uniform is perfect. 

Good - The student displays a consistently positive attitude to learning and can work effectively in a group, individual and in a whole class activity. They bring the right equipment and is eager to learn. They respond very quickly to staff instructions and requests. Low level disruption is rare. They are punctual to lessons and takes pride in their work and appearance. 

Satisfactory - The student is mostly positive in their attitude to learning and can mostly work well in a group and as an individual. They usually have the right equipment and usually wants to learn. They mostly respond to staff instructions. They can sometimes cause low level disruption and/or is sometimes late to lesson. Their uniform is not always worn with pride. 

Poor  - The student lacks engagement and shows a lack of respect and tolerance for staff or other students. There is a lack of self-discipline. They have poor attitudes to learning and do not value good manners. Punctuality or attendance is an issue.

KS3 - years 7, 8 and 9

For our Key Stage 3 students, we choose a reporting approach which bands students according to their current ability which allows them to understand their targets and progress more easily.

Ks3 report example sept 26

The 3 Bands

At the beginning of year 7 we use a variety of internal and external data including SATs, CATs and subject-based assessments to allocate the initial banding for your child in each subject. The majority of students will be experiencing some subjects for the first time, so we would expect them to start at a lower base. Of course, every child is given the opportunity to move up (and down) bands throughout their school life

  • Foundation
    This indicates your child has a basic ability in the subject area.
  • Intermediate
    This indicates your child has a sound ability in the subject area.
  • Higher
    This indicates your child has an exceptional ability in the subject area.

How Progress is Measured

Each term, your child’s teachers will determine, through assessments and classwork, their current working Band.  This allows students to demonstrate ability above their current Banding as well as alert staff when they are working below either their Target or Current Banding.  The 10 progress values are shown below:

Working Towards
Foundation - 
Foundation =
Foundation +
Intermediate -
Intermediate =
Intermediate +
Higher -
Higher =
Higher +

For example, if your child’s report at the end of the summer term says they are in Intermediate band for a subject, but progress is regularly Higher =, you can expect them to move to the Higher band in the next term.

Ks3 report progress sept 26

 

KS3 is not assessed in the same way as KS4, but if you were looking for a comparison for the bands to GCSE grades, then the following gives you a indicative guide:

Band Current GCSE Grading Equivalent GCSE Grade
Foundation 1, 2, 3 F, E, D
Intermediate 4, 5, 6 -C, C, B
Higher 7, 8, 9 A, A*, A**

How Bands Differ from Sets

The majority of our classes in school are taught in mixed ability groups with students of varying aptitudes in the same class, working together.  This means Students who are working at Foundation, Intermediate and Higher levels are all being taught the same curriculum, at the same time. The philosophy is to teach to the top with scaffolded tasks to support those who have difficulty accessing the learning, and other tasks to stretch and challenge those working at a higher level.

Reading Age

KS3 reports also include your child's actual age compared to their assessed reading age. Students are tested once a term and reading ages are calculated using GL Assessment, which is a computer-adaptive baseline assessment that measures students' understanding and analysis of an author's use of language and literary devices to create certain effects. Each test takes about 20 minutes to complete.

How can I help improve my child's reading age?

Students should be reading for one hour a week, ideally for twenty-five minutes every day. Their progress is supported by Sparx Reader programme, which allows teachers to monitor the reading development and practices of their pupils and provides tools to quickly ascertain their reading level, reading age and comprehension level.

Banding Criteria

Each department are in the process of adding their branding descriptors to the website. We will add the links here, as and when they are published. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact our Heads of Department.